8 Aug 2018

What The Ladybird Heard Live is no exception. Based on the
best-selling picture book by Julia
Donaldson and Lydia
Monks, we enjoyed watching the stage production by Kenny Wax Family Entertainment in
association with Matthew Gregory.

Refract is all about looking at things differently. We chose
to watch Small Worlds - a compilation of 5 interwoven stories played out as
miniature theatre under a canvas dome. We were an audience of not more than 20
children and adults, seated just a couple of feet away from the miniature stage,
in what was a very intimate setting.

The two puppeteers/animators moved props, adjusted stage
lighting, created sound effects and made sure the animated film synced
seamlessly with the wooden puppets in the foreground. A butterfly and a red
balloon were the thread that linked the stories of a bug, a goose, a fox, a cat
and a little girl.

13 Jun 2018

It’s not uncommon for children to dislike maths. However, as
a parent, you can help change this. If your child finds the subject boring or
difficult, there are things you can do to make learning fun and easy. Here are some tips that will
help you spark a love of maths in your child, making it a fun subject that
they look forward to learning.

1. Commend Them for
Effort

It’s important to always acknowledge your child for their effort,
even if their calculations aren’t correct. Offering recognition will encourage
your child to continue trying, whereas if you ignore their attempts to work out
the correct answer, they’ll find it disheartening.

Teach your child that a wrong answer is better than no
answer at all and you’ll motivate them to learn. By commending them for effort
you’ll boost their confidence in maths and inspire them to keep trying.

2. Gamify Maths

Of course your child isn’t going to want to learn maths if
they have no interest in it. Inject fun into learning and make a world of
difference to how your child perceives the subject.

So, how can you gamify maths? Swap a textbook for an
interactive maths game and your child won’t even realise they’re learning;
they’ll be having too much fun!

Game-based learning provides an educational experience
that’s also engaging and exciting, so your child will look forward to sitting
down and practising maths – instead of completely dreading it.

3. Simplify it

If your child is struggling with a task, simplify it. Break
it down for them as much as you can or, alternatively, set them an easier task. Spend time ensuring they understand the fundamentals, moving on to the next stage only after they are comfortable and confident with a given task.

By simplifying tasks for your child, you will not only help your child to
understand maths but enjoy learning the subject too.

4. Make Maths
Relatable to Their Hobbies

When using scenarios to teach your child maths, make sure
you incorporate their hobbies to pique their interest. By including activities
such as football or dance into mathematical situations, you’ll instantly engage
them and, in turn, make maths more exciting and enjoyable.

You’ll also demonstrate the everyday value of maths, so your
child will understand the importance of developing their mathematical skills
and, as a result, be more inspired to learn.

5. Use Interactive Tools

It’s almost second nature for your child to use a smartphone
or tablet, so it is a good idea to introduce interactive tools to enhance their learning
experience.

Disclosure: This post is in collaboration with Maths-Whizz, an online maths tuition service for
5-13 year olds, which promises to help children reach their full potential in maths. Start
your free trial today
or get in touch on +44 (0) 203 328 6564 to book a consultation.

12 Jun 2018

StikBots are plastic figures with flexible body parts and
suction cups for hands and feet that can be positioned in different ways.
Download the free mobile app, Zing StikBot Studio, and you can create your own
stop-motion StikBot movie.

We first came across StikBots at the Digital Kids Show last year,
when J had a go making an animation film. We have now been given the
opportunity to review the new StikBot Pirate Movie Set.

The StikBot Pirate Movie Set came in a flat-pack box. We
opened it to find 6 neatly folded foam boards. One of these opened up to form a
double-sided backdrop – a beach scene on one side and a cliff picture on the
other. The other 4 foam boards included numbered parts to build the pirate ship
and accessories. Also included was an instruction sheet with step-by-step
diagrams. It was easy enough to pop out the foam board parts and piece them
together to create a pirate ship, two row boats with oars, a pair of cannons
and some sharks and palm trees. The highlight was the treasure chest with a lid
that flips open and can be filled with coins and jewels.

9 Jun 2018

In case you haven’t heard of them before, Bunchems are sticky
orbs of plastic with tiny hook-like projections that you can squish together
into fun shapes. We have reviewed Bunchems Bunchbot in the past, and were happy
to expand our Bunchems repertoire with the new Unicorn theme pack.

This Unicorns pack comes with 5 variously coloured Bunchems,
some of which glow in the dark. The pack includes 200 Bunchems, a selection of
accessories (2 pairs of eyes, a pair of wings, a pink base, a wand, a crown and
a horn) and an instruction sheet with ideas to create some fairies and
unicorns.